Thursday, May 3, 2018

I recently heard from some fellow business owners who attended SummitTrek’s 3-day LifePlan Retreat that a day or two later they found themselves deep in thought, facing some deep questions. Hearing about their experience reminded me of where I was a year ago, the first few days after Heather and I attended the same retreat.

In a fog. Blurry. That’s what it felt like. I remember it took me a while to shake it. I also remember being surprised by it. Why, after an experience so inspiring, that helped you dig, heal, and process, would you find yourself walking in a fog?

It’s hard to believe because now, a year later, I’m walking with more clarity than ever before. I know where I’ve been and how God has redeemed that part of my story. I know where I am in the present and am learning to choose wisely and boldly and creatively. I know where I’m headed and have a degree of confidence and momentum that continue to propel me forward.

Ironically, I also had ICL surgery this week. After years of dreaming about it, I finally bit the bullet thanks to the generosity of a close friend and the excellent referral of someone in the field. For a couple of years I haven’t been able to wear contacts and my active lifestyle made glasses restrictive, so I was anxious and excited to try a procedure that claimed to eliminate the need for either.

ICL stands for Implantable Collamer Lens. The procedure entails inserting a collamer lens behind your iris which corrects myopia and takes all of twenty minutes. And some money. Oh, and it’s life changing.

During the consultation and the pre-operative visits, the doctor and his staff told me about the risks, the numbers, the data. Essentially this is what they said:

-Time and financial cost involved

-Minimal risk

-A great upside

-Minimal pain and downtime

-Quick recovery

-More mobile

-Lenses are removable which means you can upgrade as your eyes change

-Most people see even better after than before and they don’t require external aids to do so.

Yesterday morning at 6:30, Heather and I drove into rush hour traffic in San Antonio and made our way to Dr Parkhurst’s office. I checked in at 7:30 and about thirty minutes, a couple dozen numbing eye drops and a couple of Valium tabs later, I was lying in a chilled surgical suite, listening to my choice of Pandora station (Oscar Peterson) and ready to roll.

Fifteen or twenty minutes went by and I walked out in a haze, with instructions and a promise. It will get clear. Give it some time. Follow the process.

Thirty minutes later, I sat in an exam chair and I could see my wife’s beautiful face as she sat in the corner eight feet away, something I couldn’t have done an hour before without glasses. Still foggy, still blurry, but I could see.

On the drive home, I could see cars, buildings, trees, signs. Still foggy, still blurry, but I could see.

Later that evening, behind sunglasses in an auditorium on a university campus I watched my daughter’s violin recital. No glasses or contacts. The lights were still bright and things were a little foggy. A little blurry, but I could see.

I got up this morning and there was no fog. No blur. I could see and it was unreal. I walked around like it was the first day of my life, thrilling in every detail, in things I had taken for granted. Later this morning, the doctor confirmed I have 20/15 vision and it might get better.

So, why is this ironic?

Here’s what my friends at SummitTrek told me about the LifePlan retreat:

-Time and financial cost involved

-Minimal risk

-A great upside

-Minimal pain and downtime

-Quick recovery

-More mobile

-You will be equipped to create a vision for your life that will guide you as you change

-Most people see even better after than before and they don’t require external aids to do so.

So yes, we left LifePlan last year with questions. Things were foggy for a few days. They were blurry. But we had a process to follow. It took us a bit to adjust to a new way of seeing our past, our present and our future. But we gave it some time and followed the prescriptions and vision became clear and is becoming more so.

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The Sunken Church

This blog follows the life, ministry and adventures of the Casey family. We were missionaries in Ancona, Italy from 2000 until 2011. We are now adventuring in the US of A, experimenting with running a business, growing a garden, raising a family and challenging the Church to break outside the box and adopt new forms to reach a new generation with the truth of the Gospel.

di Ancona

About Me

Born in Santiago, Chile I have grown up on the move - lived in some 15 different homes. I am a 'word' person - enjoying almost anything to do with books and literature. I love exploring God's great world and helping people find their place in it.

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sunken

The story goes like this:

There once was a church down by the port in Ancona, Italy. With the passing of time, shaken by earthquakes and beaten by the winds, the foundations of the church crumbled and the church toppled into the sea. A friend of ours shared with us that she remembers, as a little girl, playing along the pier and seeing the remains of the church under the water. She remembers seeing the cross from the top of the church under the surface. She told us that some say that if the wind was strong enough and the waves choppy enough, you could even hear the bells...

The story leads to this question:

If we were to raise her out of the water, if we were to restore her completely to what she was originally intended to be...what would she look like? If we were to remove her from all the traditions that humankind has surrounded her with and drowned her in...who would she be?